MESSAGE FROM GOVERNOR BRIAN SANDOVAL

Over the last several years, every member of the Nevada family has been touched by the housing crisis and some of our fellow Nevadans continue to struggle. Unemployment rates and falling home values have had a devastating effect on communities. whether you have been directly impacted, or have neighbors, friends or family that have experienced a hardship, we are in this together. Working together, we can and we will find solutions that will return stability and prosperity to our neighborhoods.

In 2012, thousands of Nevadans attended a free housing assistance event in Las Vegas sponsored the State’s Department of Business and Industry, called “Home Means Nevada.” At that comprehensive event, over 250 representatives from banks met with homeowners and provided help on the spot. While thousands of Nevadans received assistance at that event, we recognized that we can and must do more.

Since the event, we have been working diligently to create a housing assistance program utilizing the national mortgage settlement agreement funds supplemented by additional federal funding that is tailored to meet the unique needs of Nevada’s struggling homeowners. Through the hard work of the Department of Business and Industry and Nevadans statewide, Home Means Nevada has been transformed from a single event to a state-sponsored nonprofit organization.

The newly launched Nevada Home Retention Program was developed to assist delinquent, underwater homeowners who have not been aided by existing programs. The goal of the program is to stabilize homeownership in neighborhoods by bringing principal mortgages to market value, giving the homeowner an opportunity to begin building equity. While this program will not solve every problem, it is a step in the right direction and I believe it will help return hope to struggling families.

Working together, I am confident that we will continue to build a bright future for Nevada. Should you have any questions about this program, please call the Home Means Nevada office directly at (702) 570-5712.